The Physiological Action of certain Mineral Waters and Baths on the Blood, and on the excretion of Urea and Uric Acid: with a note on the Quantitative Relationship between Uric Acid and Leucocytes

Abstract

THE following observations were made on the authors themselves, and extended over a period of 77 days. Their health was perfectly normal throughout, and, other conditions being constant, the results must therefore be regarded as purely physiological.Points examined. These consisted of the determination of the total daily excretion of urea and uric acid, the estimation of the haemoglobin and corpuscles, and the enumeration of the leucocytes.Methods adopted. For the determination of urea the hypobromite method was used, Gerrard's instrument being chosen. Uric acid was estimated by the Gowland Hopkins process. The amount of hawmoglobin was determined by means of Oliver's hbemoglobinometer, and the volume of the red corpuscles estimated by Oliver's opacity tube.At the outset, and for some time subsequently, parallel enumerations of the red corpuscles were made with the Thoma Zeiss counting chamber, but these were found to agree so accurately with the volumetric method (the variations never exceeding the physiological limits) that enumeration was discarded as unnecessary. The leucocytes were counted in the Thoma Zeiss chamber, the diluting fluid being acetic acid *2 0/0 with methyl violet, and the amount of dilution 1 to 200.The total urine of the 24 hours was collected daily for the estimation of urea and uric acid. The blood was examined once a day, the time chosen being imllmediately after rising in the morning, when the blood is at its most constant point, and before being disturbed by bath, exercise, or breakfast. For a certain period the blood was also